USS Franklin (1864)

USS Franklin, photographed by Edward H. Hart, ca. the 1880s.
History
United States
NameUSS Franklin
NamesakeBenjamin Franklin
BuilderPortsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
Laid down1854
Launched17 September 1864
Commissioned3 June 1867
Decommissioned13 November 1871
Recommissioned15 December 1873
Decommissioned2 March 1877
Recommissioned2 March 1877 as receiving ship
Decommissioned14 October 1915
Stricken26 October 1915
FateSold
General characteristics
TypeScrew frigate
Displacement5,170 long tons (5,253 t)
Length265 ft (81 m)
Beam53 ft 7 in (16.33 m)
Draft17 ft (5.2 m)
PropulsionSteam and sail
Armament
  • 1 × 11 in (279 mm) gun
  • 34 × 9 in (229 mm) guns
  • 4 × 100-pounder (45 kg) guns

The fourth USS Franklin was a United States Navy screw frigate. The ship was launched in 1864, partially constructed from parts of the previous USS Franklin. Commissioned in 1867, Franklin, named after Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, served as the flagship of the European Squadron from 1867 to 1868 and from 1869 to 1871. She was decommissioned in 1871. Recommissioned in 1873, she joined the North Atlantic Squadron and served until 1877, when she was decommissioned again, then immediately recommissioned for use as a receiving ship at Norfolk, Virginia. She served in this capacity until 1915, when she was stricken and sold.